Blogs

Curator's Corner

Space-Motion-Light: Robert Irwin

Monday, September 12, 2022 | Karl Cole

September 12th is the birthday of artist Robert Irwin, whose spectacular artistic career has spanned numerous art forms and styles through the years. His light installations are usually based on the l ...

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Curator's Corner

A Visual Tribute to Labor Day Week 2022

Monday, September 5, 2022 | Karl Cole

Aside from the myth of Sunday as a “day of rest” in the West, it’s interesting to me that there is only one day a year that celebrates “labor” in the U.S. The movement to ...

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Curator's Corner

Rain, Rain Go Away?: Tanya Goel

Monday, August 29, 2022 | Karl Cole

Some parts of the U.S. are experiencing too much rain, while others are in drought situations (as we are in Massachusetts). Well, the extremely hot weather worldwide, linked with the combined bamboozl ...

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Curator's Corner

Romance Awareness Month 2022

Monday, August 22, 2022 | Karl Cole

I happen to be a romantic slob at heart, and when the subject of “romance” comes up, works of art that I think characterize the concept naturally spring to mind. The following works may no ...

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Curator's Corner

Beautiful in Cobalt Blue

Monday, August 15, 2022 | Karl Cole

Being a painter, I have colors that I consider essential to almost every painting I make. I tend to prefer phthalo and cobalt colors. (Safety note: yes, I always wear gloves when I paint.) O ...

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Curator's Corner

Global Sleep Under the Stars Night: Henri Rousseau

Monday, August 8, 2022 | Karl Cole

This unusual national day (or night, rather), Global Sleep Under the Starts Night, was founded in 2020 to encourage people around the world to experience the same night sky. Of course, we don’t ...

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Article

Personal Pigeon Portraits

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | Julia L. Hovanec

In this first-day-of-school lesson, students engage in a read-aloud of the picture book, The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! They also look at the expressive self-portraits of Frida Kahlo. Students then d ...

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Article

Art from the Heart

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | Jane B. Montero and Rob Garrett

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. As art educators teaching elementary students, Jane Brumfield Montero (Michigan) and Robb Garrett (Poland) created an art exchange to spread cheer to stud ...

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Article

Helping Hands

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | Bette Naughton

Fine motor skill development is happening almost solely in the art room. Classroom teachers are required to focus on testing, ELA blocks, and math and science units. Activities that usually would requ ...

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Article

Design with the Cell Phone in Mind

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | Eric Gibbons

For this lesson, I wanted students to create and photograph an artwork that would become the wallpaper for their cell phones. They could express their personal interests if it was school-appropriate. ...

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Article

Editor's Letter: Beginnings

Wednesday, August 3, 2022 | Nancy Walkup

The start of a new school year always seems to offer a fresh beginning. For new teachers especially, meeting students for the first time may offer a challenge. Personally, I always had students making ...

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Curator's Corner

Swiss National Day Bundesfeier: Le Corbusier

Monday, August 1, 2022 | Karl Cole

The first of August (Erschten Ougschte in Bernese) is the Swiss “Independence Day,” celebrating the establishment of the first Swiss Confederation of thirteen cantons (districts) seeking l ...

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Curator's Corner

Gem of the Month: Wang Zhen

Monday, July 25, 2022 | Karl Cole

This beautiful still life is representative of a period in Chinese art when Chinese artists began to be influenced by elements of Western art, before the Communist government was established. Man ...

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Curator's Corner

Disability Pride Month 2022: Yayoi Kusama

Monday, July 18, 2022 | Karl Cole

During her long and distinguished artistic career, artist Yayoi Kusama has explored painting, sculpture, conceptual art, performance art, and installation with sound. She has created a truly unique ae ...

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Curator's Corner

Wistful about Writing: Tughra

Monday, July 11, 2022 | Karl Cole

I am painfully aware that very few people learn to write in cursive these days. When I was a teaching assistant in grad school, some students couldn’t read my grading remarks because I wrote the ...

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Curator's Corner

Summertime with John Henry Twachtman

Tuesday, July 5, 2022 | Karl Cole

I know that summer started in June, but I always feel as if summer isn’t really here until the 4th of July weekend. Let's rejoice over that fact with an artist who is often left out of  ...

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